It will probably become the next big conflict of our time - the dispute over the island of Taiwan, which the People's Republic of China wants to bring under its control. The writer, sinologist and doctor of philosophy Stephan Thome, who has lived in Taipei for many years, writes knowledgeably about the background to this political hotspot. His novel ‘Fliehkräfte’ was shortlisted for the German Book Prize. Suhrkamp Verlag, 2024

The historian Peter Heather and the economist John Rapley assume an imperial life cycle whose beginning and end are closely linked to economic developments, as was the case with the fall of the Roman Empire in the first half century AD. The lessons to be learnt from this for the West, which is still facing its great adaptation process or already facing its decline, make for fascinating reading. Klett-Cotta-Verlag, 2024

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Vladimir Esipov was editor-in-chief of Geo in Russia and has been working as a journalist in Berlin since 2016. He describes his homeland in a true-to-life, personal, sometimes wistful, sometimes funny way and thus brings it closer to the Germans than many academic books. A good contribution to finding out what makes the Russians tick - without always receiving the moral condemnation. Heyne Verlag, 2024

Boris Bondarev was one of the few Russian diplomats who retired from service shortly after his country invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He had worked at the Moscow Mission at the UN Office in Geneva since 2019. He and his family now live in the West under special security measures. A rare glimpse from an insider's view of the Russian power apparatus. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 2023

The authors, both professors at renowned US universities, compare the ten largest diplomatic services in the world — particularly with regard to the question of whether they are prepared for the foreign policy challenges of the 21st century. They are those of Germany, France, Great Britain, China, India, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Turkey and the USA. A book for foreign policy enthusiasts who want to know more about the history and cultures of foreign ministries. Springer International Publishing/Palgrave Macmillan, 2020